Website Refurbishment: Web Services
The UF Academic Health Center (UF AHC) comprises one of the largest web structures on the University of Florida campus. With several hospitals, six colleges and dozens of centers, institutes and clinics, we have hundreds of web sites within the AHC. Making sure that they maintain quality, up-to-date information and content is a full-time job for scores of individuals within the AHC.
Like a physical structure, web sites sometimes need a little bit of TLC: minor repairs needs to be made, areas need redecorating or repurposing, and additions have to be considered, planned for and built. Web Services works with content providers to make these remodeling projects quicker, easier, and a little less stressful.
Moving into the New UF&Shands.org WordPress Template
Web Services works with UF AHC units to migrate their legacy HTML websites and older WordPress websites into the new official UF&Shands theme.
- For departments using the Orange & Blue template, the transfer can take as little as 15 minutes, depending on the complexity of your site.
- For older WordPress template sites and for sites built in static HTML, the process will take longer and will require a step by step migration process in order to move into the template.
Migration Process / Site Update Services
The following list of services are provided to units during the migration process. These services are also provided on an a la carte basis as requested by UF AHC units.
Competitive Analysis of Peer Review Sites
External Web Services reviews your peer institution sites and competitors to compare their site navigation, content, tone of voice and paths to action to establish best practices within your niche. This report helps to determine the best course of action to reach your audiences, to know what the conventions are in the industry, and to identify ways that we can break those conventions to help you stand apart.
Content Analysis
Sometimes it takes a fresh set of eyes to look at the content of your site to see ways to make it more inviting to users not familiar with the organization and its services.
On request, Web Services can provide a comprehensive review of your site’s content and suggest new methods for presenting that content to your target audiences. These services include:
- ROT Analysis
- Strategic Content Review
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
ROT Analysis
We work with the content providers in your units to audit existing existing content on your site for redundant, outdated and trivial content, commonly known as ROT. By identifying and removing this material from the site, it makes the sites easier to manage and for audiences to find the information and complete the tasks that are central to your mission and goals.
Strategic Content Review
Web Services reviews the content of your site for messaging and consistency with the strategic priorities set forth by the unit, the UF AHC and the University of Florida, and makes recommendations on how to leverage those strategies and the strengths of the institutional brands to enhance your content.
Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
We review the site content for keywords, use of title tags and alt tags, and other organic Search Engine Optimization techniques to ensure the site is maximizing its potential for indexing high in searches.
Information Architecture Development
Information Architecture is concerned with the overall categorization of content within a web site (i.e. the grouping of similar content together in sections and in navigation menus). This is no easy challenge, as there are many different ways to organize the content, requiring extensive research and analysis to determine the best method for a particular audience, as well as periodic review and testing to refine the approach.
Review of Site Usage
Web Services can use the analytics and other metrics collected for your web site to identify how users interact with your site and search for information. This analysis drives the structure of your navigation and can suggest alternatives that can make it easier for users.
Identifying Key Pathways and Goals for Site
Working with the unit, Web Services identifies the key goals for the site and what tasks a user would be expected to complete. Web Services can then use user personas and scenarios to map out the appropriate structure for completing such tasks using the site, and then test to ensure that this key pathway works as intended.
Card Sort Testing
In a card sort, users are asked to group information of a site either into predetermined categories or in logical groups that they are then asked to name. This exercise is good for testing the assumptions made in developing a site navigation solely from organizational structures and metric data for their relevance to how your audience uses the site.
Refresh Photography and Graphics to be Consistent with New Templates and Messaging
Arresting visuals are important for capturing the eyes of casual web users. Web Services provides graphic design support for UF AHC web sites, including illustration, photography and 3D animation. During the migration to the new WordPress templates, our team will help to transfer existing graphic design content and makes sure it’s consistent with the new template in terms of size, color and style.
Code Validation and Cleanup (W3C)
Web Services can review the source code of your site and clean out redundant or deprecated methods of rendering your site. The team checks the code to see if it validates to the standards of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C), which sets community standards for the web. In doing so, your sites will load faster, be more accessible to those with disabilities, and will work more efficiently with the latest web browsers and be able to use the latest techniques and applications the web has to offer.